Department of Civil Engineering

CIVL3206 Steel Structures 1: Semester 2, 2004

Submissions Requirements and Assessment Criteria

General Notes about Submissions and Engineering Calculations
The main general aims of all the submissions are:
1. To reinforce and complement the theory covered in lectures through practical examples.
2. To ensure students work continuously throughout the semester and receive feedback on their progress.
3. To enhance the important generic skill of setting out solutions/calculations for archival purposes.
Students will discover the importance of aim 3 as they progress through their professional careers, whether or not it is
related to engineering. Drawings and calculations are major forms of communications between engineers.
A professional engineer performs written calculations for two reasons:
1. To calculate the answer to problems (obviously!),
2. To keep a permanent record of satisfactory design.
The importance of keeping accurate design calculations is increasing in the engineering profession. Disputes over
fees, delays in construction, or minor and major failures, mean that engineers are often required to provide evidence
of their calculations and decisions.
The following checklist could be used as a guide before submitting an assignment.

Is the submission reasonably neat, organised and legible?

Is there an appropriate diagram of reasonable size, showing all relevant forces, dimensions etc?
Is the answer set out in a clear and logical manner such that a fellow engineer could understand?
Is there a brief explanation of the key steps (even just a phrase) or are there just numbers?
Are any assumptions noted?
Have the questions specifically asked in the problem been answered, and are the answers clearly identifiable?
Are the correct units used?
Is the number of significant figures appropriate?
Have I checked (or double checked?) my answers?
Have I put my name and student number on the assignment?

A well written assignment is one which a fellow engineering student like yourself would be able to
understand. Always ask yourself Would another student understand my submission?
Submissions can be made during lectures or directly to the lecturer herself. Please do not use the submission box on
the 4th floor of Civil Engineering. Design submissions are due at the beginning of the lecture on the due date.
Submission deadlines will be strictly enforced
Typing or computer-aided drafting is not necessary and is discouraged. All material must be fixed securely
together, but manila folders are not obligatory. Please do not use ring binders and do not put material into plastic
sleeves.

Design Exercise
There are 4 design exercises. The anticipated workload for each design assignment is about 8-10 hours. It is hoped
that students can complete about 30 50 % of the design exercises during the scheduled tutorial sessions.
D1 Structural Layout & Loading
D2 Structural Analysis
D3 Truss Design
D4 Frame Design

Design sketches; dead, live and wind loads; load combinations; sheeting
and purlin design
Structural analysis; truss analysis of truss roof alternative.
Tension/compression member design of truss roof alternative.
Design of main frame; second-order effects; beam-column (combined
action) design

For each submission, there will be a brief information sheet outlining the requirements. However, more details
and design advice will be given during the tutorial sessions. Hence, attendance at the tutorial sessions is
important. It will be assumed that all students will be familiar with the information concerning each design
exercise given in the lectures and tutorials.
Each design submission is marked out of 5. The aim of the design assignments is to give students the chance to
design critical parts of a steel structure using the type of procedures that could be followed in a design office, starting
from concepts of the structural system, evaluation of loads, structural analysis, and design. Demonstrating knowledge
of the behaviour of the structure and an understanding of the design standard is considered important. Giving
adequate explanation for design choices and use of appropriate diagrams is an essential component of the design
submission. It is anticipated that students will need to spend approximately the same time out of class (or slightly
more) as is timetabled in the drawing office to complete a typical design assignment.
WHY? That is the question the marker asks him/herself.
justification of your design choices.

The marker will be looking primarily for

The following is an approximate guide for the marking scheme for the design assignments.
2 or less
2.5

3
3.5
4

4.5
5

Unsatisfactory, inadequate and/or incomplete.

Barely Satisfactory, but there needs to be more diagrams or explanation of choices made in the
design. The submission has done the absolute minimum requirements, but does not necessarily
demonstrate understanding of the problem.
Satisfactory. The student has done the required elements of the design adequately. There may be
some mistakes.
Good. The work is well presented and there is explanation of design choices, supplemented by
the use of appropriate diagrams and figures. There may be a few mistakes.
Very good. Well set out submission, demonstrating knowledge of the design problem, and
explaining design choices made with good use of appropriate diagrams and figures. There may be
a few minor errors.
Excellent submission, demonstrating thorough knowledge of the problem, and suitable
explanation of all design choices, with very good use of figures. Very few or no errors.
Perfect! (or very close to it!)

Assignments must be legible, logically arranged and concise. Marks may be deducted for untidy submissions.
Each submission should contain a title page, a design summary, neat final design sketches and recommendations,
and complete but concise supporting calculations. Additional information may be placed in appendices.
Typing or computer-aided drafting is not necessary and is discouraged. All material must be fixed securely
together, but manila folders are not obligatory. Please do not use ring binders and do not put material into plastic
sleeves.
Students may wish to make their own copies of each submission as there may be a delay in marking and returning
the assignments, and each successive assignment tends to build on previous work.

Designing a member involves determining the member of least mass which is suitable for the structure.
Each design should provide evidence of this. Also please specify the sections chosen correctly indicating
both the correct designation and steel grade.
Please clearly state any assumptions, choices or simplifications that are made. A proportion of the marks is
awarded for giving adequate explanations - wherever possible use diagrams rather than text to aid explanations.
Students may use spreadsheets to automate some repetitive calculations if they desire. This is acceptable, but the
printouts should be kept to a minimum while still clearly showing the steps in the calculation. A hand written
verification of a spreadsheet should be included (eg a spreadsheet may be used to calculate the capacity in
compression of a member since several trial sections will normally be used. Please include the results of all
sections trialled as if the calculations were being done by hand and include a set of hand calculations ensuring
your spreadsheet is correct). If a computer structural analysis is performed, pages of meaningless data output
should not be included.
Each design assignment may be done either individually or in pairs, provided that a different partner is chosen
for each different submission.
While discussions with lecturers, tutors and peers are encouraged, students are required to prepare their own
assignment individually/in their group.

Lab Reports
A separate document on laboratory sessions/reports will be provided.

Tutorial Problems
For each of the 5 main structures topics (tension, compression, bending, combined actions, and connections) there
will be a set of tutorial problems. The tutorial questions are designed to complement the lecture material, and many
important observations can be made from performing the tutorial questions. For this reason, students should aim to
complete most of the questions as they progress through the semester, rather than waiting till Stuvac. In addition, the
tutorial questions prepare students for the corresponding component of the design exercise. The anticipated workload
for each set of tutorial questions is 3 4 hours, and it is hoped that students will complete most of the tutorial
questions during the scheduled tutorial sessions.
Each tutorial set will have several questions ranging in difficulty, giving students practise in the calculations that will
ultimately be involved in the design exercise. Students will only be required to submit a selection of the questions on
each sheet, but students are highly encouraged to complete ALL the questions, not just those nominated for
submission.
There will be 5 submissions during the semester. Note that an essential criterion in this course is the submission of at
least 3 acceptable sets of tutorial questions failure to make at least 3 acceptable submissions will result in a fail
mark being awarded in the course, regardless of performance in other areas.
The aims of the tutorial submissions are:
Reinforce the examples considered in the lectures;
Familiarise students with the use of the relevant clauses in the design standards;
Prepare students for the following design submission;
Ensure students work continuously during the semester by allocating assessment marks to the submission;
Provide feedback to the students of their performance;
Provide feedback to the lecturer on general areas of strength or weakness amongst students.
Regular attendance and participation in tutorials are considered important for successful understanding and
performance in this course. Many important topics which will aid good assignment performance are covered in
the tutorial sessions.
The problems will not be marked in detail they will be checked for the correct procedure and adequate
presentation/setting out. A solution will be made available after each tutorial, and it is each students responsibility to
check his/her submission with the solution. The lecturer will attempt to return the submissions within a week to
ensure timely feedback to the students.
Tutorials are given a mark out of 2. The nominal mark of 2% assigned to each tutorial submission is a small incentive
to complete the work satisfactorily. Marks will be assigned to the tutorials submissions as follows:
Mark
Details
0 or 0.5 Inadequate, unsatisfactory and/or incomplete. No or extremely poor diagrams, use of units and
explanations. Major calculation errors.
1
Barely satisfactory. There is little use of diagrams or explanation of choices. The submission has done
the absolute minimum requirements and does not necessarily demonstrate understanding of the problem.
Some calculation errors.
1.5
Satisfactory. The student has done the required elements of the question adequately. There are some
calculation errors. Appropriate diagrams are used.
2
Very good. Well set out submission demonstrating knowledge of the problem with choices explained
using appropriate diagrams and explanations. There may be a few minor errors.
2
Excellent. Submission demonstrates thorough knowledge of the problem with suitable explanation of all
choices and very good use of figures. Few or no errors. Close to perfect.
While discussions with lecturers, tutors and peers are encouraged, students are required to prepare tutorial
submissions individually.

Examples of Good and Unsatisfactory Submissions

The following question is an extract from the 2000 Exam.
Single 150 100 12 Unequal Angles in Grade 300 steel are being used as diagonal tension members in a truss. A typical UA
member is connected to each chord of the truss using M20 bolts through the long leg of the UA only, and the pattern of 22
mm diameter bolt holes is shown in Figure 1 below. The capacities of the bolts in shear, and the ply in bearing do not need to be
considered.
i)

Sketch two different fracture patterns that may occur in the UA section in order to determine the net area (An).

ii)

What is the design section capacity in tension ( Nt) of the angle section?

Remember to include units.

Direction of
applied tension

4 @ 50 mm

150 mm

30 mm
60 mm
60 mm
100 mm

Elisha Harris
July 2004
C:\steel\2004\CIVL3206_2004_assessment_criteria.doc